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question for commerical guys in the deep south

I have around 50+ hive here in the deep south part of Ga. After doing an inspection this morning I see alot of SHB. I have like other faught them for two years now. What are the comerical beeks doing to protect there hives. I know many in the upper US dont have problems with them. I live in a very mild climate. If they are already as strong as Im seeing them I think I might be in trouble.

I was in FL the last 6 yrs and only had trouble with SHB in weak colonies. I would occasionally see them in a strong colony but never did damage. They would raise havoc in weak mating nucs. Use check mite(if you can remove it in time for your honey flow) to flush them out then relocate colonies to differrent yard( that hasn't had bees in it for a few years) may work to cut them back a little, Kind of like crop rotation. Different SHB traps available for use in hive. Make the bees stronger and don't give them more supers than they can occupy/defend. Screened bottoms make it easier for them to get in the hive if the screen is to big. Just a few suggestions

dead outs and weak hives are the perfect breeding ground for the shb. old gappy equipment just gives them more places to hide. shaded location seems like someone rolled out the welcome mat for the shb. some people seem to think hard ground is better than sandy soil. the jury is out on that one for me, since one of my only deep sandy location seems to have little problem.

I have had more positive results from boosting and feeding than anything else. this spring I have decided I need to kick any weak mating nucs before they become a problem... this typically mean I need to check them and remove any excess frames on a fairly regular bases (say every 4 to 5 days). even in location where you have problems the hives that propolize heavily seem to deal with them the best... I find little dead shb encased in the propolise.

I used to use GardStar to drench the soil near the hives and it helped with SHB. Now instead of using GardStar, I put salt or muriate of potash on the ground near the hives. This kills the SHB larvae as they develop in the ground. This method has worked for me for 2 years now and it is inexpensive.
CheckMite may be necessary to clean out the hives, then the salt or potash can be used to prevent re-emergence of the SHB.

I noticed the bettles in weaker hives forsure. But the problem is we have titi blooing everywhere and I had to add a super. Problem is they are new wax and the draw out has been slower the expected. Have kept feed running the whole time. I will try the checkmite on the the top cover with a device to keep the bees out and allow the SHB in . Anyone had luck with the AJ BETTLE EATER TRAPS?

tecumseh:
yes sir I have. they will catch some beetles but I am 'somewhat' certain that they are ineffective for the price.

check the earlier post (possible in the disease section) fat bee man had a description of a home made small hive beetle trap. beeman dan and I discussed the trap (I don't have the abiltiy to capture video so he was giving me a blow by blow discription of the device).

Agree with Tecumseh. AJ's are a little expensive for the amount of beetles trapped. West traps are very effective, just a pain to deal with on a large basis. Hives in the sunlight and strong hives work best.

During your hive construction, run a bead of poly glue in the corners. It will expand and somewhat "Cove" the corner. No corners left for the beetles to hide in and the bees are very effective at getting to them.

I'm looking into them now, and have just asked a question about them in the Pests and Diseases forum.

Beeaware-where do you get the muriate of potash? How much of it and salt do you use? I have used lye with minimal results. Do not want to use Checkmite.

Muriate of Potash is available at farm stores, co-ops etc. It is a fertilize product. It is more costly than salt but you can use less of it. I buy salt in 50 lbs bags, at the same type stores, and spread it generously on the ground around hives. Not only does it help control the SHB but it keeps the grass from growing up around my hives. This and GardStar is the only SHB control I have used and I stopped using GardStar two or three years ago. So far, so good.